Progress
by J.M. Rekark
Summary: a fic about something that could'be been if cedric lived. a bit OC and OOC. its not too great, so you're warned.


readers beware! this story probably contains about a gazillion grammatical errors!

Disclaimer: i do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters, J.K. Rowling does

Cedric Diggory was just about to begin his first year at Hogwarts and he couldn't be more anxious to get there. They even arrived an hour earlier than they were supposed to. Still, one little thing was in his way. "Dad, why didn't Mom use the bathroom at home?" Amos Diggory merely smiled as he patiently waited for his wife to finish using the bathroom at King's Cross. "Son, when you got to go, you got to go." Cedric tapped his foot impatiently at this and started going over all the things he'd say to his mother when she got out. Just then, the door to the bathroom opened and Cedric started. "Mom did you have to use the bathroom now? You know how bad I want to go to Hogwarts. The train might've left for the school early today and I'd be stuck here. What's wrong with you?" As Cedric took a good look at his target, he realized that it was most definitely not his mom he was ranting and raving to.

Intelligent hazel eyes looked back at him with curiosity. "I'm not sorry to inform you that I am not your mother and even if I was, I'd never allow you to talk to me like that. You're lucky I won't tell her how you yelled at me or else you'd be sorry. That's not even how you're supposed to talk to a lady. Do us all a favor and learn some manners." When she finished her speech, the nine year old girl spun on her heel and walked away. A minute later Mrs. Diggory exited the bathroom to find her husband laughing and her son staring ahead with a shocked look on his face. She didn't ask any questions, but gave them a strange look as they headed for the Hogwarts Express. As he passed through the barrier, Cedric promised himself that he would learn some manners. Although he'd made some friends along the way, Cedric spent most of the train ride thinking about the girl with the intelligent hazel eyes.

Cedric Diggory was going to begin his second year in a month. Although he already loved Hogwarts, Cedric wasn't as eager to go back. After all, what kid didn't love summer? Currently, he was at the Muggle fair his parents took him to each year. The fair had tons of games and rides, and Cedric never ceased to be amazed by all these Muggle oddities. He walked around with some cotton candy in one hand and two tickets in the other. He looked around in search of any games that he hadn't already played. As he searched, he heard a beautiful sigh emit from someone nearby. He turned to see a girl around the age of ten or eleven looking at all the other kids with prizes in their hands. Her hands held no prizes, but only a single ticket. Cedric looked at her sympathetically since all the games took two or more tickets to play. He turned away from the girl when a sign caught his eye. It was a sign for a game that cost three tickets. He turned back to the girl and his newfound manners took over.

Cedric walked over to her and cleared his throat. When she turned towards him, he said, "Miss, will you allow me the honor of winning you a prize?" The girl looked at him with suspicion before replying, "Maybe, but what's the catch?" Cedric simply pointed to the sign and held up his two tickets. After reading the sign, the girl smiled and handed over her ticket. "Good luck," she said as he walked off towards the stand. His first two attempts to knock down the three milk bottles were futile, but on the last try, he knocked all of them down. The girl cheered as Cedric chose a giant soft teddy bear as his prize. He walked over to her and handed her the prize before being rewarded with a hug. "Thanks," she whispered before shyly pulling away to find her parents. Cedric watched her walk away and the rest of the day, he thought about the girl with the beautiful sigh.

Cedric was barely a month into his third year when he saw a familiar girl in the library. He knew she was a fist year Gryffindor, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he knew her. He watched from his corner table as the girl did her homework. Already, two sheets of parchment were filled with her neat handwriting. Come to think of it, he saw her in the library a lot. Never once did he see her without a book in her hand. He hadn't seen her with friends either. It was rather odd for a first year to not have at least one friend yet. He watched as some other first years came into the library. The girl perked up a bit and waved to them. Cedric was a little angry when they walked past without even acknowledging her.

The girl's shoulders drooped and she sullenly turned back to her work. Cedric decided to try cheering her up. He took some parchment and wrote, "Don't be upset. People like that don't deserve to be your friends anyways." Then he quickly folded it up into a crane and muttered an incantation. In an instant, the bird flew over to the girl. After reading it, she looked up and caught his eye with a slight grin on her face. Cedric smiled back as they both continued to work. An hour later, Cedric saw a paper airplane had landed on his table. He looked around and saw that the girl was exiting the library already. He opened the plane and there written in her neat handwriting was, "Thanks." Cedric smiled and continued reading, but all he could concentrate on was the girl with the neat handwriting.

Cedric Diggory was in his fourth year at Hogwarts when he was sent to the Hospital Wing for the first time after getting hit with a bludger at quidditch practice. His friends had rushed him to Madam Pomfrey immediately as his chest surged with pain. As he lay on one of the beds, the healer examined him, stating that he had a few broken ribs. As his ribs were magically mended, Cedric sighed in relief. The healer told him to lay down for a few minutes as she got him some potions to take daily. He leaned back into the pillow and looked around him. The white of the infirmary was annoying, so the flash of color in the bed next to him was calming. He turned to say hello to the person when he realized with a start she was one of the victims who had been petrified.

Her bushy hair was messier than he had last seen it, but the rest of her had remained the same. Cedric knew that her first name was Hermione, but only because she was one of Harry Potter's best friends. He remembered the faces of Harry and Ron Weasley as they were eating lunch and felt bad for them. He only hoped that none of his friends would be petrified. He looked back at Hermione's frozen figure and could only feel slight regret. He'd been in the library before the match and had seen her looking around. Maybe, just maybe, he could've prevented this from happening if he had stayed a little later. Cedric walked out of the infirmary with unnecessary guilt in his heart and the bushy-haired girl in his head.

Cedric Diggory was in his fifth year when he heard about the fight from his mate. Eric jogged over to his friend. "Hey Ced, did you hear what happened to that Malfoy git?" As Cedric shook his head, Eric continued. "Little Granger from Gryffindor really gave it to him." Cedric looked confused. "Granger?" he questioned. "Yeah, her name's Hermione Granger, one of Potter's friends."Cedric nodded, finally matching the face to the name. "What'd she do to the prat?" Eric was practically on the floor laughing by then, "She slapped him right across the face."

Cedric's head shot up from where it was resting on the library table. No one was usually brave enough to physically hurt the whiny Malfoy heir. "What's her punishment for it?" Eric managed to compose himself before continuing, "That's the best part! He won't tell on her or else his reputation's ruined. Too bad his plan backfired since that Ron Weasley told everyone. It's awesome how she got away with it, isn't it?" Cedric nodded eagerly, "Yeah, that's pretty cool." Eric started to say something, but stopped as he saw someone walking out from the depths of the library. It was Hermione Granger, herself, with her nose in a book as she continued to exit the library, unaware of the two boys watching her. As Cedric drifted back to sleep at the table he thought of the girl who dared.

Cedric Diggory was in his sixth year at Hogwarts and currently a Triwizard Champion. He was one of the hottest guys in the school and had one of the prettiest girls as his girlfriend. His winning personality brought him even more affection than his good looks. All this was great and dandy except for the fact that he would be late for Transfiguration in two minutes and McGonagall was not known to be forgiving. As he ran down the hall, he cursed his friends for waking him up late. As he rounded the corner to take a shortcut through the Charms Corridor, he collided with something warm. In a second he was knocked to the ground. His head clunked against the hard stone floor. Cedric slowly opened his eyes to meet two hazel ones staring worriedly at him.

"I'm so sorry, Cedric! I wasn't looking where I was going."Cedric looked up dazedly and questioned, "Hermione Granger, right?" The girl nodded and watched as Cedric slowly got up. Hermione had his books in her arms, but when he held out his arms for them, she merely kept staring at him. "Hermione, why are you looking at me like that?" He hoped that she didn't have a crush on him since the last thing he needed was another fangirl. Hermione was starting to laugh and wordlessly pointed to his hair. Cedric walked over to the nearest suit of armor and checked his reflection. To his horror, he had a severe case of bedhead with his hair sticking up at wacky angles like a mad scientist. He furiously tried to flatten his hair as the fourth year girl slightly giggled.

Cedric continued trying to solve his dilemma when he heard a mutter behind him. As if a comb was running through it, his hair straightened and styled itself neatly. He turned to see Hermione putting away her wand. "Thanks Hermione," he said appreciatively. Hermione smiled impishly at the handsome boy and replied, "You're welcome. Anyways I couldn't have you disappointing your fan club, could I?" With that said, she continued on her way as Cedric went to class. He didn't even listen as McGonagall took points from his house for his tardiness. The rest of the day, all Cedric could think about was the girl with the impish smile.

It was Cedric's seventh year, and after narrowly escaping from the graveyard, many things had changed. For one, he'd broken up with Cho after realizing they were drifting apart. Cedric wasn't too upset though since he'd become good friends with Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys. At the end of the year, he would become a member of the Order of the Phoenix. Still, he didn't expect to be in the Department of Mysteries looking to save an ex-convict. Cedric was aware of everything in the strange rooms. He was aware of the weird objects and the D.A. members around him, but most of all, he was aware of Hermione's hand in his. Over the year, they'd become very close, best friends even. Whatever happened, he would make sure she was safe.

Little did he know, his promise would not be kept. As the battle raged on, he lost track of her. Soon enough, the Order arrived and in a second, Sirius was gone and Harry had chased after his killer. Cedric was left with the adults and injured students as they watched over the bound Death Eaters. Cedric's eyes searched for her when he realized that she, Ginny, and Ron were missing. With Tonks and Professor Lupin by his side, he searched for the three. Ginny and Ron were found in one room with some injuries, but Hermione was nowhere in sight. As the professor levitated them away, Cedric searched desperately for her bushy hair.

"Cedric, I've found her!" His head whipped around as he ran towards Tonks. She was leaning over a motionless body as she carefully moved some debris off it. "No," Cedric whispered as he knelt and touched his forehead to hers. Tears fell as he cautiously grabbed her wrist, too afraid of what he would find. When he felt the pulse under his fingers he hugged her close. Tonks looked on as the usually collected boy wept and gently held Hermione's body to his with relief. All Cedric could think about was the girl who was still alive.

Cedric had graduated three months ago, but was once again in front of the Hogwarts Express. He looked over the heads of the many people surrounding him, searching for red. He finally found it and headed towards the Weasleys. After all the greetings were over, Ron caught his eye and pointed to something behind him. Cedric turned just in time to catch Hermione in a bear hug. Laughing, the older boy spun her around a few times before setting her down and planting a chaste kiss on her lips. Harry, who had just arrived, made throw up signs with Ron while Ginny and Luna sighed quietly.

"Promise me you'll write every other day," Cedric said as she boarded the train. Hermione looked at him with a huge grin, "I'll write twice a day, I promise." Cedric grinned back and kissed her hand. He stepped away from the train as she found a compartment. From a window a few paces down, she called to him, "I'll miss you every minute I'm away!" As the train started to move Cedric ran by its side, shouting to her, "I'll miss you every second!" As he took a nap that day, his dreams were about the girl who was his.

Cedric Diggory had been out of Hogwarts for about two years, and now he was going back. He would protect the place that was like a second home to him no matter what. As an Auror, it was his job to protect. Even with the corrupted ministry, Cedric lived up to his job as an Order member. Still, he wished, just once, that he could be selfish and escape somewhere safe with Hermione. Merlin, did he miss her! The last time he'd seen of her was at the wedding. As he entered Hogwarts through the Hog's Head, Cedric looked at all the faces around him. In a second, he was tackling her with a hug so fierce, yet at the same time, gentle. They stayed like that until she had to leave with Harry and Ron. She looked into his eyes and then kissed him senseless. After the kiss ended, she whispered, "Will you come back to me?" She had a desperate look on her face that spoke of all her fears. He whispered back, "You can count on it."

After that, all hell broke loose and they lost each other in the battle. After Harry defeated Voldemort, everyone was hugging and cheering. When hazel eyes met grey ones, it seemed as if the world was put on pause for them. A second later, they were running to each other and hugging and kissing and laughing. As the night wore on, the couple finally passed out in a corner of the library, just holding each other. Cedric unconsciously wrapped his arms tighter around Hermione as he found peace with the girl he loved.


End file.
